InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Teaching Rin ❯ Chapter 37

Disclaimer - It’s not mine. Never was. I’m not the owner, nor am I making any money off of the characters originally created for the Inuyasha anime/manga.

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Teaching Rin

Chapter 37

Now Some Friendly Interference

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She was mad.

Or, more specifically, she was mad at him.

And Sesshomaru knew he was the center cause of her ire only moments after her brother and the mutt had disappeared along the horizon on their way back to the Southern Lands. She had stalked past him in the courtyard, not uttering a single word. A few minutes later, she had emerged from the living quarters in a clean set of training clothes, heading straight for the circle of his elites who were sparring hand to hand.

She didn’t look at him, didn’t say anything, didn’t even acknowledge that he was still standing there. All she did was call Yukio to the middle of the circle and proceed to beat the living daylights out of the surprised soldier, right along with half a dozen others before she finally stood back and started showing them a variation on one of the submission holds they had been taught weeks before.

He had caught her in the dojo that night, sparring with Reisho and a few of the others. By the time he had made his presence known, Kaida was already sporting countless bruises and scrapes from the other men, not that they looked any better. He had dismissed them, realizing quickly that Kaida’s aggression was still stemming from what had happened during patrols.

The Western Lord had unsheathed his sword and stood before her, inviting her anger.

“If you have a desire to challenge me, then do so. Do not use my soldiers as a poor substitute.” he had said coldly, only to have her sneer at him and turn her back.

“And if you’ve got a problem with something I do, then take it up with me, and not my brother. You ever touch him again, and I swear I will find a way to kill you.” she hissed sheathing her blades and stalking out of the dojo without another word or backwards glance at him. He had just stood there, more surprised than annoyed at the threat. It was the first time she’d had the gall the threaten to kill him…and for some reason he believed she would seriously go through with it if she was pushed any further.

That had been three days ago, and those were the only words she had uttered to him since then.

She was absolutely infuriating! Any previous time she had been angry with something he had done, she had confronted him and they had fought it out. Now, she was purposely avoiding him, just like she had been doing since her betrayal at Kiyoshi’s hands. He didn’t understand what she was scheming, didn’t know what she was thinking. And worst of all, things were starting to be said about them that did not necessarily hold merit.

Nothing she had done could be construed as abnormally rude, especially considering their past history, so he couldn’t call her on that. Call it male egocentrism, especially for someone like himself who had always been respected to the point of godliness, but when she refused to acknowledge that he had even walked by, he suddenly got the irresistible urge to just grab her and shake her silly in an attempt to focus her attention on him. He wanted her attention…something that he had never thought would be possible.

He was reluctant to admit it, but this little creature was slowly chipping away at his pride.

‘Yet she gives her entire attention to one such as he.’ Sesshomaru thought bitterly, watching as Kaida led Kaze to where he knew his soldiers were waiting to begin training. Bano had told him that Kaze would be returning within a few days, but he had thought it was a false statement given to the guard captain to pass on to him in an attempt to make him angry.

He suddenly wished he had sent word to the guards to forbid the merchant entrance into his home. Of course, given Kaida’s temperament, she would have simply left the fortress and met him in the forest. Somehow Sesshomaru preferred the two of them within his sights as opposed to them meeting secretly in the forest where he couldn’t keep an eye on him…them. Of course, that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Sesshomaru watched as Kaida interacted with the merchant. And Kaze was eating the attention up like a starving man. Sesshomaru had vacated the castle and joined the elites on the training field in a covert attempt to watch Kaida and Kaze’s interaction. Presently, he was speaking with Bano about some new recruits and the immediate need for an addition to the supply of armaments kept within the quarters.

But his attention wasn’t really on the huge bear demon.

Apparently some of his soldiers found it amusing to see Kaida practically attached at the hip to someone else. And he was currently within hearing range of all the little quips and jibes they felt comfortable enough throwing at her because of the merchant’s presence.

“Hey, General, who’d you bring with you today?” Yukio asked loudly, garnering most everyone else’s attention in the dojo.

“If it was any of your business, I’d inform you.” Kaida snapped. “Get back to work before I come over there.”

“Really, love, you shouldn’t be so hard on them.” Kaze said soothingly, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her to his side with a playful grin. “A lady like yourself should not yell.”

“She’s no lady.” someone yelled.

“Kaida? Not a lady? Why, I could tell you stories of her charming the most influential demons of our time.” Kaze said scandalously.

“Not if I cut your tongue out, Kaze.” Kaida hissed venomously, removing herself from his grasp.

“You’re Kaze?” Reisho asked.

“Indeed I am.”

“You’re one of the ones that’s presenting for General, aren’t you?”

“Indeed, I am.” Kaze said, sighing dramatically. “However, I am slowly finding that my dear Kaida is a tough little firecracker.”

“Yeah, that’s about to blow up.” Nekotu snickered, causing the elites to laugh.

“We’re really honored, General.” Yukio said between bouts of laughter. “But you really don’t have to bring your lovers in here for us to inspect. We’d be happy for anyone who could calm you down.”

“Yukio, if you don’t want to be used as my personal pin cushion, I suggest you keep your mouth shut.” she growled, fingering a few daggers on her belt to get her point across.

“You see what I mean?” Kaze tsked disdainfully, shaking his head as Kaida rounded on him again. “She’s such a passionate creature! Such fire! Such…”

“Kaze!”

“So if she pummels you into the ground,” the merchant continued on, ignoring her completely. “don’t be offended. She beats the hell out of people she likes. It’s her skewed way of showing affection. Masochistic tendencies and all that.”

“KAZE!!”

“So that’s why you and Lord Sesshomaru go at each other on a regular basis.” Sakaki teased. “And here I thought I was the only one you regularly beat up on.”

“Of course!” Kaze exclaimed. “You didn’t know? She’s madly in love with him!”

Sesshomaru’s growl at the other dog’s words was drown out by the sudden laughter filling the area. He chanced a glance at Kaida, only to find her curling her hands into fists and trying to calm the sudden red blush that had stained her face.

“Although how he did it I will never know.” Kaze went on easily, painfully unaware of Kaida‘s rising anger. “I think our beloved Kaida has a thing for the tall, brooding types. Alas, such is my fate that my lovely, passionate Lady Kaida sees fit to bestow her affections, however violent they may be, onto the most anti-social, arrogant, pain in the…..”

“That’s it!” Kaida growled, making for Kaze. “I’ve had it!” Sesshomaru watched, completely dumbfounded at her reaction, as she elbowed him hard enough in the stomach to double him over; then falling to her knees, she kicked his feet out from under her childhood friend. Kaze fell flat on his ass, and the snickering stopped as Kaida turned her rage on his elites. “If you are done laughing at my expense, I suggest you get back to work before I gut you and use your intestines to string my bow. NOW!”

That got their attention quickly enough. He kept his eyes on her as she scanned over the area, checking for only heaven knew what. Unfortunately, the embarrassed blush that had been staining her face faded in a split second when she realized that he was standing on the other end of the training field, perfectly within hearing range of what had just been said. She slipped out the back of the dojo two seconds later, leaving a dazed Kaze on the ground.

Sesshomaru was on his way towards the downed dog demon, thoroughly ready to kick him out of the Western fortress for the rest of his life after beating him to within an inch of his life. But the half-breed was quicker, and managed to get up and run after Kaida before Sesshomaru could close the distance between them.

‘Well, that was unexpected.’ Sesshomaru thought, following the two and watching as Kaze finally recovered enough to catch her before she got to the defensive wall beyond the dojo. She struck out at him yet again. But the merchant had apparently been expecting it because he ducked neatly out of her range, saying something that caused even the fiery Kaida to stop mid-swing and gape at him for a few long seconds before she regained her composure and backed down, shaking her head from side to side. He watched as Kaze walked over and embraced her warmly.

The Western Lord thought she would retaliate once again, but all she did was sigh and hug him back, burying her face in the mutt’s shoulder. Kaida visibly shuddered as the merchant tried to sooth her, unbinding the short braid and running his fingers through her hair. Much to Sesshomaru’s surprise, and annoyance, that seemed to lull her outburst and calm her down. There were a few words exchanged, but from the distance he was at, couldn’t tell what it was.

The pair quickly headed towards the farthest edge of the compound near the gardens close to Rin’s room. He followed at a safe distance, finally picking up parts of their conversation.

Yes, he was eavesdropping on a private conversation. But he justified it by telling himself that with Kaida in the current state she was in, she couldn’t teach his men anything worthwhile. Therefore he needed to fix whatever was wrong so that she would once again get back to doing what he had requested of her to do.

“…deserves to know, Kaida.” the mutt was saying. “Have you even broached the subject with him yet?”

“No. Not a word.”

“Why not?”

“Oh, right. I can see exactly how well that would go over.” she said sarcastically. “What am I supposed to do, Kaze? Lay my heart at his feet and hope he doesn’t stomp all over it?”

‘What? Her heart? Who is she referring to?’ he thought.

“You are a wonderful person any demon would be proud to have as a mate.” the mutt said sternly. “It’s his stupidity if he rejects you!”

“I don’t want to take that chance.”

“May I remind you that your time here is limited, love. You are leaving the West in a few weeks to come back home for your sister’s union. He needs to know.”

“I’m not telling him, and that’s final.” she said sternly. “It’s completely one-sided, Kaze.”

“Of course it is. You haven’t told him!” the mutt growled. “A good fighter he may be, but he can’t read minds, Kaida, no man can.”

“That’s one blessing in disguise at any rate.”

Sesshomaru quietly disagreed with Kaida’s view on that topic. Females were complicated enough, he had wished many times he could just read their minds and find out what and how they thought. Hence the reason he avoided them at any possible time. Females were unpredictable.

Sesshomaru didn’t like unpredictability.

“What are you so scared of, love?” Kaze asked. “He has the rank, he has the stability to give you a good life. Your father would approve. Hell, I approve, even if I don‘t like him! Not to mention the fact that Sakaki would be ecstatic if you told him.”

‘Sakaki?’

“I know, I know. But I’ve been like this since that fight with Kiyoshi.” she said quietly. “Ever since then, I’ve felt…dirty. Like I’m not good enough for anyone, let alone someone who I care about that much.”

“Dirty?”

“I don’t deserve…”

“What?” Kaze asked angrily. “What is it you don’t deserve?”

“Please don’t make me say this.” she begged. “Let it go already. It‘s done and over with. Just leave it in the past where it belongs!”

“Not until you tell me what that bastard said that has you doubting your own self worth!” he said. “How the hell am I supposed to leave it in the past when you haven’t done that? You’re letting him haunt you, Kaida. Kiyoshi’s dead. You let it go.”

“Don’t…” Kaida begged. “I can’t…I don’t want to even think about that day.”

“Yes, you can.” he said. “And I’m not leaving here until you tell me what’s got you like this, Sesshomaru’s orders be damned. I’ll take you back home myself it that’s what it takes to fix this!”

“Kaze…”

“Listen to me, love.” he said gently. “You didn’t tell anyone what Kiyoshi done that day. We wanted to keep you home for a while to recuperate, but Sesshomaru swept you out of there so quickly…”

“Kaze?”

“It was a mistake, letting him take you so soon afterwards.” the mutt said firmly. “Look, your father is on the verge of coming here himself to get some answers. He knows something is wrong, so does your brothers. You scared Keiji with that last letter you sent him, and seeing the way you acted with Sesshomaru when we found you on patrol only cemented it.”

“I can’t….”

“It’s like you’re trying to shut us out, to forget we even exist. You’ve never been a cold hearted woman, Kaida. Hardheaded? Yes. Stubborn? Yes. Unorthodox? Since the day you were born. But never cold.”

Sesshomaru privately agreed with that assessment.

“Kaze…”

“Where’s the Kaida I know? The one I loved for so long?” he asked, reaching out to cup her face gently and make Kaida face him. “Where is that wonderful being that turned Rin into a perfect wife for Kentaro? The one who’s gained the respect of not only Sesshomaru’s most elite soldiers, but the Western Lord himself? Where’s my Kaida?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do.” he said. “She’s in there, battered, tattered, bruised, and hurting, but she’s still alive. And you know what?”

“What?”

“I want her back, in whatever shape she’s in.” Kaze said, pushing her hair behind her ear, allowing Sesshomaru to see her profile, and the tears that were on her cheeks. “Everyone else does too…Sakaki most of all if everything he told me was true.”

“It’s been so long…”

“He‘s gone, Kaida. That nightmare you dealt with for years isn‘t here anymore to hurt you. They‘re dead, both of them. Let yourself learn how to trust again. Let someone else in, someone besides me. These feelings you‘re having for the mutt just proves my Kaida is still here, somewhere in there.”

“You bastard mutt!” she sobbed, launching herself into his welcoming arms. Kaze just smiled lightly and went back to soothing her as best he could. A few minutes of intense crying and he could pick up the slight, murmuring voices of the life long friends as Kaida finally told her savoir what had happened during that attack.

Sesshomaru didn’t want to know anymore than he had already seen. He’d seen Kaida’s lifeless body after the cat had killed her. He’d seen the bruises on her body, the scratches on her arms, the bites all over her shoulders and neck. The torn clothes and blood matted hair. It was enough for him to piece together what Kiyoshi had done to her. He didn’t need the sordid details.

The Western Lord left his place and stalked back to the fortress, more than just a little angry. Kaze’s presence had been merely an annoyance at first, now it was downright intrusive.

He didn’t know what had rattled him the most, though. Seeing Kaida break down in the arms of her friend, considering the avoidance of all contact with him since she’d come back, seeing the trust she had in him. Or the fact that she had just given him verbal conformation that someone in his lands had finally caught her attention. And from what he could tell, it was Sakaki.

That didn’t sit well with him at all.

He had noticed her distress, but had chalked it up to her just being moody. She had been busy with Rin during the mornings, and occupied with the soldiers from afternoon till nightfall. Their spars had not started again, and he had not brought the subject up. As far as he knew, she was spending more time in her quarters since Rin had went Eastward than she ever had before. Of course, if Sakaki or one of the other soldiers searched her out, or Keisha needed some help, she would go to assist them anytime she could. And now that he stopped and thought about it, he had seen her with the head guard over a dozen times since Rin had left a week ago.

Her avoidance of people was limited to only himself.

Sesshomaru followed the sounds of beating wings, only to find Ishika landing in the courtyard and Kaze and Kaida standing to the side. Kaida still looked upset, and he could tell her eyes were red from crying, but she seemed a little better than she had been when he left.

He glanced at Kaze, who caught his gaze and refused to let it go. The other demon shook his head and mounted Ishika, pulling Kaida up behind him. The Southern demoness would not look at him, and it angered him greatly.

“You are leaving?”

“She’s going with me for a few days.” Kaze said coldly, drawing Sesshomaru’s attention to himself.

“You have a job to do.”

“Supervise your own damned soldiers.” Kaze growled. Sesshomaru growled at the other demon and reached for Toukijin.

“Stop it, both of you.” Kaida said finally. She looked down at him and swallowed nervously. “I’ll be back in time to get Rin. And I got Sakaki to tell Bano I’m leaving, so he can handle the elites. Just give me a few days and I’ll be back.”

“Maybe.” Kaze groused, glaring daggers at the other demon. “You got anything to say, you better say it now.”

“Do as you will.” he said icily.

“We were going to anyways.” Kaze grumbled, giving Ishika the signal to go aloft. Sesshomaru watched, holding in a feral growl as Kaida hugged Kaze’s midsection, whispering a heartfelt thank-you to him. The mutt patted her hand and interlaced his fingers with her own as they flew out of sight.

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The Western Lord reigned in his urge to go after the pair and drag Kaida back into the fortress. He didn’t want her alone with the merchant, but he wouldn’t admit to why.

On some level of his subconscious, he realized that his reactions stemmed from pure jealousy. Jealousy of Kaida’s attachment to the dog demon, her obvious affection for him.

He had thought himself above such petty emotions. They were a hindrance to him and the goals he had set.

‘She’s not a hindrance. Look at the good she’s done since she’s been here.’ the more logical part of his brain pointed out. ‘She’s done wonders with Rin. The elites are in the best shape they have ever been in. Not to mention that since she’s been here, there have been less attacks on the trade routes. She’s more of an asset than a hindrance and you know it.’

“I’ll kill him.” Sesshomaru growled, his claws dripping with acidic poison as he watched them fly out of his reach. He had to get control of his jealousy before he done something that would cause him more problems. But the problem facing him had simply compounded itself now. Her friendly attachment to Kaze was one thing. But a romantic attachment to Sakaki? He knew that Kaida had taken to the head guard not long after arriving in his lands for the first time all those months ago. He had seen them walking or talking together during and after Rin’s training, and he had seen how she usually pulled him aside during his elite’s training to inquire about some piece of information. It was obvious the guard had garnered a place in Kaida’s affections, but Sesshomaru never realized that such a place ran so deep as for her to admit to loving him.

This entire situation was starting to give him a headache.

He turned on his heel and headed towards the forest behind his domain. Something was about to die a very slow and painful death at his hands.

The last time he had let his anger and jealousy blind his judgment, he’d lost an arm to his hanyou half sibling.

Such a mistake would not happen again.

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A/N - Hey, how’s everyone doing? I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I had some trouble writing it. Trying to put the complex emotions of one such as Sesshomaru down on paper is difficult…to say the least. I hope I did him justice. ;)

Until next time,

A.A.

Oh, and please review, I’d like to know what you think.